Abstract Prints (2049)
Abstract prints represent a revolutionary departure in Japanese printmaking, emerging primarily through the sosaku-hanga (creative prints) movement of the mid-twentieth century. While traditional ukiyo-e and shin-hanga were rooted in representational imagery, abstract works embraced non-figurative composition, exploring color, texture, and form for their own expressive potential. The abstract turn in Japanese printmaking gained international recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, when artists like Yoshida Hodaka, Maki Haku, and Tajima Hiroyuki won major prizes at the Sao Paulo and Venice Biennales. These artists developed distinctive approaches to abstraction — from Maki's layered cement-and-ink surfaces to Tajima's vibrant geometric compositions — that drew on Japanese aesthetic principles while engaging with global modernist movements. The woodblock medium proved uniquely suited to abstract expression, offering possibilities for textural experimentation through woodgrain impression, selective inking, and the interaction between handmade washi paper and carved surfaces. Many abstract printmakers exploited the material qualities of the block itself, allowing the wood's natural grain to become an active compositional element rather than merely a vehicle for an image.
Artists Known for Abstract
Untitled
Oil on canvas
Untitled (Cow) and Untitled (Donkey)
Two etchings on wove
Untitled (Pears)
Oil on canvas
Japanese Modernist Sculptor Abstract Terra Cotta Relief Calligraphy Painting
Terracotta, Masonite, Paint, Mixed Media
Untitled
Monoprint, Woodcut
Untitled
Monoprint, Woodcut
Untitled
Bronze
Fireworks over Ryogoku
1884
Woodblock Print
Untitled
Terracotta
Untitled
2009
Color on ceramic
Untitled
Color on ceramic
Untitled
Terracotta
Untitled
Terracotta
Untitled
1990
Graphite on paper
Untitled
1982
Oil and mineral pigment on canvas
Work 73-50 B (Nothing)
1973
Woodblock and embossing
Interval of time #2
2017
Silkscreen
Ando series I
2023
Woodblock, Other
The Goat Trail, Black's Beach: Golden Sunlight
2021
Japanese Woodblock Print
Fragments
2022
Mixed media on panel including mokuhanga, wood, stone, pigments , pencil and resin
Untitled
2021
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodcut print)
The Light Shines on Fushimi Torii
2016
Woodblock on washi paper
Impression of Arc 90-4
1990
Woodblock Print
Domain of Shadows
2022
Pastel on Paper
Twilight
2022
Japanese Woodblock
Red Space
1987
Serigraph
Untitled I
Offset lithograph
Untitled II
1985
Offset lithograph
Untitled III
Offset lithograph
No.290
1972
Oil on canvas
Untitled #87
1966
Oil on canvas
Untitled (No. 218)
1970
Oil on canvas
Untitled
1971
Oil on canvas
Untitled
Lithograph on paper
untitled
1973
Woodblock print on Japanese paper
Untitled
1956
Woodcut with hand-coloring on Japanese paper
Shadow on the Waves
1971
Color woodblock print
Fragment
2021
Cut and pasted woodblock printed papers mounted on museum board
Hanabi (Fireworks)
2003
Silkscreen
Abstract "Flowers" with Red, Blue and Pink Tones
20
Lithograph
No. 6
1952
Woodblock print
A Classical Poem
1886
Woodblock Print
Untitled
1963
Oil on burlap
untitled
70
Oil on canvas
Untitled
Oil on canvas
Work
1993
Iink and color on paper laid down to panel
Work
1960
Oil on canvas
Work
1970
Painted on Ceramic
Cloth Shadow
Monotype print on paper
FALLING WATER NO.2, 2002
2002
Type C-print
PLANO, ILLINOIS, NO. 2, 2003
2003
Type C-print
QUINAULT NO.2
1991
Type C-print
QUINAULT NO.20
1991
Type C-print
QUINAULT, NO. 34, 1990
1990
Type C-print
TALIESIN NO.3, 2002
2002
Type C-print
TALIESIN NO.36, 2002
2002
Type C-print
Indigo No. 6
2010
Collage of etching on old book pages from Japan
The Go-Cart
1913
Color woodcut on paper
A Mexican Coquette
1912
Color woodcut on paper
From Lines
1974
Oil on canvas
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Abstract prints represent a revolutionary departure in Japanese printmaking, emerging primarily through the sosaku-hanga (creative prints) movement of the mid-twentieth century. While traditional ukiyo-e and shin-hanga were rooted in representational imagery, abstract works embraced non-figurative composition, exploring color, texture, and form for their own expressive potential.
Maki Haku, Onchi Koshiro, and Nana Shiomi are among the artists most associated with abstract in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 2049 prints tagged with abstract, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.